1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of communication systems, and in particular, to a method and system for configuring wireless control systems for broadband wireless communications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
People and businesses are demanding higher bandwidths from their communication providers. Consequently, the communication providers are looking for ways to increase the bandwidth of their systems using broadband technologies. Broadband technologies are generally referred to as systems that deliver a bandwidth at or above 64 kbps. Broadband technologies can communicate over downstream channels and upstream channels. The customer receives data from another device or system over the downstream channels. The customer transmits data to another device or system over the upstream channels.
Broadband Wireline Systems
One example of a broadband technology is Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service. DSL service can carry both voice signals and data signals at the same time in both directions. DSL service also can carry call information and customer data. DSL service is typically comprised of twisted-pair wires that connect a customer to a central office. The central office comprises a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) that provides the DSL service to the customer. Unfortunately, the speed of DSL service is limited by the distance between the customer and the DSLAM. Customers located too far from the DSLAM may not be able to receive high-speed service. Also, there may not be enough customers within a particular area to make it economical to install a DSLAM. The quality of DSL service is also limited by the quality of the copper wire that connects the customer to the DSLAM. Furthermore, DSL service does not work over Digital Loop Carrier (DLC) lines.
Another broadband technology is cable modem service. The cable modem communicates with a device over a coaxial cable. The coaxial cable is typically the same coaxial cable used to receive cable television. The cable modem service can be one-way or two-way. In a two-way system, the coaxial cable carries both the upstream channels and the downstream channels. In a one-way system, the cable modem receives data on the downstream channels over the coaxial cable and transmits data on the upstream channels over a phone line. Unfortunately, the cable modem uses up valuable bandwidth on the phone line in the one-way system. Also, the upstream bandwidth is small over a phone line.
Broadband Wireless Systems
Another broadband technology is broadband wireless service. Customers that subscribe to broadband wireless service communicate with a head end. . In a one-way wireless system, a transmitter antenna for the head end broadcasts wireless signals to the customer on the downstream channels. The transmitter antenna is a satellite antenna or a land-based antenna. The customer transmits data to the head end over another medium, such as a phone line or a cable modem, on the upstream channels. One example of a one-way wireless system is a Digital Satellite System (DSS) from DIRECTV.
A specific type of broadband wireless system communicates over Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service (MMDS) frequencies and Multipoint Distribution Service (MDS) frequencies. The MMDS frequencies range from 2500 MHz to 2686 MHz. The MDS frequencies range from 2150 MHz to 2162 MHz. In a typical MMDS system, the bandwidth of the upstream channels is about 6 MHz. The upstream bandwidth is divided into subchannels. Each subchannel has a bandwidth of 200 kHz. In other examples, each subchannel has a bandwidth of 166 KHz.
A head end manages the upstream and downstream channels with the customer. The head end also interfaces the customer with communication networks such as the Internet. The head end includes a base antenna comprised of a transmitter antenna and one or more receiver antennas. MMDS requires a line of sight between devices that are communicating. Therefore, the antennas are placed on a high building or a mountain to establish lines of sight with the customers.
The transmitter antenna is omni-directional and broadcasts data from the head end to the customers on the downstream channels. In a two-way wireless system, the receiver antennas are positioned to receive MMDS signals transmitted from customers to the head end on the upstream channels. Each receiver antenna is positioned to receive MMDS signals from customers located within a certain area. The areas formed by the antennas are referred to as sectors. The sectors have designated frequency ranges or designated channels.
The head end is comprised of an upstream manager and a downstream manager that control transmissions on the upstream channels and the downstream channels, respectively. As stated above, the upstream channels and the downstream channels are divided into subchannels. One upstream subchannel is a contention channel reserved for signaling, while the remaining subchannels are bearer channels.
In the broadband wireless system, a wireless broadband router is located at a customer premises. The wireless broadband router communicates with the upstream manager and the downstream manager to exchange data. The upstream manager generally operates the channels and/or subchannels in four states: idle, contention, polling, and dedicated. In the idle state, the channels are idle. In the contention state, the upstream manager generates and transmits control signals over one or more subchannels.
For the polling and dedicated states, the upstream manager polls numerous wireless broadband routers to allocate use of the subchannels. Polling is a round robin process to determine which wireless broadband router has access to a subchannel. The upstream manager maintains a queue of the active wireless broadband routers to determine which wireless broadband router is next to transmit over a subchannel for a period of time. The upstream manager keeps an inventory of open subchannels and waiting wireless broadband routers in the queue.
Configuration of Control Systems for Broadband Wireless Communication
As stated above, the upstream manager and the downstream manager control transmissions over the upstream channels and the downstream channels. The upstream manager and the downstream manager each communicate with a market system manager. The market system manager controls the operation of the upstream manager and the downstream manager by sending control information. The configuration of the market system manager thus determines the operation of the broadband wireless system and the broadband wireless communications within the broadband wireless system. Each market system manager is initially configured before being put into service. A system administrator manually configures each market system manager using a configuration program.
One example of a market system manager is a CyberManager 2000 from Hybrid Networks, Inc. Before a CyberManager is put into service, a system administrator initially configures the CyberManager. To initially configure the CyberManager, the system administrator accesses a graphical configuration program called “CM configure”. The configuration program has blank or variable fields that have to be filled in for the program to run. The system administrator manually enters configuration parameters into the blank or variable fields. The configuration program then generates a configuration file called “hms.config”. The CyberManager executes the configuration file to generate the control information and control the operation of the broadband wireless system. The above process is repeated for each CyberManager before they are put into service.
The system administrator can also alter the configuration of the market system manager to optimize performance of the broadband wireless system. To reconfigure the CyberManager for example, the system administrator again accesses the configuration program. The system administrator manually enters different configuration parameters into the blank or variable fields to alter the configuration. The configuration program again generates the configuration file called “hms.config”. The CyberManager executes the configuration file to generate the control information and control the operation of the broadband wireless system.
Unfortunately, manual configuration of market system managers is inefficient, such as is the case with the CyberManager. If multiple market system managers are being put into service, then each market system manager has to be manually configured. Also, configuration of the market system managers requires a highly-trained system administrator. Thus, inefficient methods of configuring the market system manager by a highly-trained system administrator can prove to be expensive.